ConAgra incentives delayed a week

GARNER -- Local and state officials have asked ConAgra Foods for more time to put together a financial incentives proposal that they hope will persuade the company to keep its damaged Slim Jim plant open in Garner.

Officials plan to present ConAgra with an incentives plan by Friday, said Ken Atkins, director of Wake County Economic Development. The company had originally wanted to see a proposal by Jan. 15, he said.

"We're working on trying to get the details nailed down," Atkins said.

He said an incentives package, which could include state and local grants and tax breaks, could climb into the millions of dollars.

The Garner Town Council held a closed-door meeting Thursday to talk about wooing ConAgra. About half of the company's plant off Jones Sausage Road was destroyed in an explosion June 9 that killed four and injured dozens.

Mayor Ronnie Williams said a preliminary proposal discussed Thursday includes $450,000 from the One North Carolina Fund through the state Department of Commerce. Garner could match that amount in the form of tax breaks, Williams said.

Atkins declined to comment about the fund and what the state might be willing to offer.

The town had considered waiving permit fees if ConAgra would rebuild the damaged side of the plant, Williams said. But town leaders decided against it, he said, arguing that if small businesses have to pay permit fees "then ConAgra and the big boys should, too."

Town leaders want Wake County to offer financial incentives to ConAgra, Williams said. Atkins has said the county likely wouldn't get involved because ConAgra's investment wouldn't reach the threshold for incentives. He said Wake County requires companies to invest at least $100 million and create 50 new jobs to qualify for tax breaks.

But Atkins said he has talked to the county manager about asking the commissioners to make an exception for ConAgra.

Usually, financial incentives go to companies that promise new jobs. In this case, Atkins said, it might be enough for ConAgra to preserve its remaining jobs in Garner.

Months after the explosion, ConAgra laid off about 300 of the plant's 750 workers. Since then, officials have worked to keep the company in Garner. ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said this week that financial incentives will play a part in the company's decisions.

"We're fightin' like the dickens to keep 'em here," Atkins said.